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If you're a fan of slow-cooked baked beans, you'll love this easy recipe for white beans with bacon, beer, and rosemary. This dish requires time: the beans must be soaked overnight and then cooked in the oven for two hours, so plan ahead. The wait is worth it, though. The beans are rustic but elegant, and absolutely delicious. Entertaining? Serve with roast chicken and a green salad. To get the recipe, read more.

Before you shun certain fruits and vegetables for life, sample them at their peak and see if you feel the same way. Although I grew up swearing off tomatoes, all it took was a locally grown heirloom variety, plucked from the vine that very Summer morning, that convinced me that I did enjoy fresh tomatoes.

Sworn foes of the pea, I challenge you to do the same. Don't like the overly sweet, baby food-like consistency of frozen peas? You're allowed to write them off altogether — but only after you've tried a bowl of in-season, freshly shelled peas and are certain you can't appreciate the toothsome snap that comes with every bite.

Shell sweet, delicate English peas and toss them lightly with a bit of olive oil, vinegar, onion, and torn mint for a classic preparation. See if you'll become an unexpected convert when you read more.

We're huge fans of comforting and delicious scalloped potatoes. Usually they're loaded with cream and milk, but girla has shared an awesome recipe that's 100 percent vegan.

The Husband LOVES potatoes and several days a week, he makes hash browns from scratch. But in an effort to reduce fried and sauteed food, he decided to make these baked scalloped potatoes from Veganomicon. They turned out fantastic! The only change we recommend is layering the spices, broth, almond milk, and nutritional yeast instead of just topping the potato slices with them.

Get the recipe after the jump.

Sick of potatoes and pasta? Then it's time to start experimenting with couscous! This incredibly quick-cooking grain (it's done in just five minutes), which can be found in most supermarkets, is native to North Africa and consists of coarsely ground semolina wheat that's typically coated in wheat flour.

Besides being superfast to make, couscous is great because it's like chicken: you can season it virtually however you want. This recipe combines golden couscous with lemon zest, scallions, and arugula for a fresh and delicious side that pairs with everything from garbanzo beans to lamb tagine to roast fish. Ready for the uncomplicated method you'll use over and over again? Then read more.

If you've ever doubted the deliciousness of dark, leafy collard greens, OnSugar blogger Fresh Tart is here to reassure you with a new recipe. Try it, and you'll never feel the same way about collards ever again!

I've been meaning to post this recipe since the holidays, when I brought this dish to my aunt Mary & uncle Bruce's house for Christmas Day.  Time flies . . .

Actually, time doesn't fly in Minnesota between December and March, so I'm not sure what my excuse is.  But no matter, here it is.

Collard greens, for you (we) northerners, require longer cooking than say Swiss chard, spinach, or kale.  But that's what makes collards amazing - a slow simmer allows them to bathe long enough in smoky, porky broth to emerge . . . smoky and porky.  And meltingly tender.

Irresistible.  Doubters, trust me.

Get the recipe when you keep on reading.

One of my favorite Spanish dishes is espinicas con garbanzos, a simple tapa or side that combines two humble ingredients, fresh spinach and garbanzo beans. While it may not seem like an extraordinary meal, I assure you that it's filling, flavorful, and fabulous. The key is in the seasonings: a hand-ground mixture of coriander seed, cumin, paprika, and fried garlic and bread. It's hearty and scrumptious on its own, but it also makes a superb side for roasted fish or chicken. Still want to keep things vegetarian? Top the savory mixture with a fried egg. To learn the easy and delicious method, keep reading.

Root vegetables have taken, well, root for the time being — at least until days go back to being longer and sunnier. Since these healthy vegetables will be abound all Winter, why not get acquainted with cooking them in different ways?

Although they're delicious in lasagna, gratins, and hashes, the most straightforward preparation is to roast them (carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, potatoes, or any other related roots) and then serve them with light seasonings.

For an even more exciting assortment of flavors, experiment by offering your root vegetable medley two ways — one sweetened with an apple cider and sugar glaze, and the other made savory with the help of smoked wood chips. Decide which dish you like more when you keep on reading.

For the best Thanksgiving ever, I'm trying a new strategy and letting all of Thanksgiving's star ingredients shine on their own. There won't be any green beans shrouded in mushroom cream or turkey overpowered by Cajun spices. Instead of having a marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole, I'm highlighting the tubers with honey and seasoning to let their true flavor take over.

I could only locate the thin, yellow-skinned sweet potato variety, although any sweet potato or yam works. Roast them until they're crunchy and caramelized with a lovely sweet-savory flavor. Then you can eat them with virtually anything: a poached egg and harissa for breakfast, curried cauliflower for lunch, and, of course, turkey. Get the easy recipe when you read more.

Although many people enjoy green beans on Thanksgiving, this year I'm suggesting you serve Brussels sprouts instead. This preparation, which tosses the sprouts with caramelized shallots, is my current fave. It's quick, easy, and very flavorful. Although the recipe doesn't say you can make it in advance, I did, and found it to be even more tasty the next day when it was reheated! Learn the uncomplicated method here.

I herald the potato in every form, but when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, mashed potatoes are a must. But as someone who's enjoyed basic mashed potatoes for the past several years, I'm ready to try something new. Enter a puree of potatoes, basil, and parmesan, courtesy of Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That?, Ina Garten's new book.

If you're a pestophile, you won't be able to get enough of its intoxicating anise-like flavor and its impossibly airy texture, which is achieved not through one of those expensive potato ricers or food mills but rather a good ol' mixer — something most home cooks actually have. For an exceptionally flavorful twist on Thanksgiving's most nostalgic side dish, read on.